Recently in Wethersfield Category

This month is Black History Month and many events and celebrations are focusing on African-Americans' journey from slavery to the White House. In Wethersfield, the Webb-Deane-Stevens House museum is focusing on the slavery part.

Yes, slavery. Connecticut does not jump to the forefront of my mind when I think about slavery but there were plenty of slaves here. Tari Joyce, the museum's education coordinator, said the last slave in Connecticut died in 1857. And since some of those slaves lived in Wethersfield the museum is organizing a special tour of the three historic homes that will show how the slaves who lived there lived.

The tours will be Feb. 14 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Feb. 15 from 1 to 4 p.m., Feb. 21 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Feb. 22 from 1 to 4 p.m. The museum is at 211 Main St. in Old Wethersfield.

Three houses were occupied by wealthy men who could afford the best. But that did not mean that being one of their slaves entailed having it easy or comfortable. Here's a view of where slaves slept in the Webb House. It's in the attic and, like my attic, it was rather chilly when I went up there. And dark. Joyce said since candles were hard to produce, slaves most likely did not get many to illuminate that attic.

One of the Webb House's distinctions is that it definitely is one of the many places where George Washington spent the night. Travelling with Washington was his valet, a slave named William Lee. But just because he was closer than most to Washington didn't mean Lee lived a whole lot better. The room where Washington stayed looked pretty comfortable even by today's standards. But Lee slept on the floor outside the bedroom, here's a view of the sort of bedroll he would have had.

The houses are furnished pretty much the way they would have been in the late 1700s and early 1800s and you can see the glaring contrast between what the owners had and what they spared for the slaves. Here's a shot of a bedroom in the Deane house where the home's owners slept.

And here's a bed in the slave room. Better than the attic but still pretty spartan.

Two of the slaves who lived in the Webb and Deane houses were Hagar and Pompey. Records indicate that eventually they were freed. Joyce said it is possible they either bought their freedom with money loaned to them by another freed slave, Clo Prutt, or that Prutt bought their freedom herself. What may have made this transaction possible was that by the time they were freed Hagar and Pompey were valued as being worth no more than a pair of shoes, Joyce said. Hagar and Pompey eventually went to live with Prutt, who made enough money making cloth to buy a house of her own.

Joyce said museum staff became interested in finding out more about the slaves who lived in the houses after seeing burial stones for African-Americans in the burying grounds in Old Wethersfield.

"It's such an important story," she said about the experience of slaves in Wethersfield. It is estimated that about five percent of Wethersfield's population at the time of the Revolutionary War was not white, although how many of them were African-American slaves is not clear, Joyce said.

The tours cost $8 for adults, $7 for senior citizens, $4 for children and $20 for a family.

Why George Wallace Sr. didn't get medals for his service as an airman in World War Two is a long story and it was also a very long wait. Wallace was discharged from the Navy in 1946 after serving for three years and it was not until Monday, more than 60 years later, that he received six medals for his service. Wallace, of Wethersfield, was given the medals at a ceremony attended by state legislators and U.S. Rep. John Larson. He received the Air Medal, the World War Two Victory Medal, the American Campaign Medal, the Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medal, the Discharge Button and the Honorable Service lapel pin.

Wallace was part of the crew of a patrol bomber, a plane used to patrol large swathes of the Pacific ocean looking for signs of Japanese warships. Like many veterans, he left the service without bothering to apply for the various medals he was entitled to. After the war he worked for a number of years at Pratt & Whitney.

The state issued its own medal for World War Two veterans a couple of years ago and that was when Wallace got interested. But even then he did not follow through until this past fall after attending a ceremony in Wethersfield in which Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz recognized veterans for their service. After getting the state medal, staff at the state department of veterans affairs pressed him to submit the paperwork for the medals he should have gotten more than 60 years ago. At that point, Larson's office helped him with the application process.

Monday's ceremony was at the Pitkin Community Center in Wethersfield. In addition to Wallace's wife and son, Larson along with state representatives Tony Guerrero and Russ Morin, Wethersfield Mayor Andy Adil and state Sen. Paul Doyle attended. Larson's staff kindly sent along some photos of the ceremony and here's Larson presenting Wallace with a flag.

Wallace said it was a beautiful ceremony and credited state and federal officials for helping him. But when asked if it was nice to finally receive a pat on the back he said, "I don't think that is really what any of us are looking for. We are more disturbed by the lack of knowledge among the generations since if what World War Two was all about."

First-hand knowledge of the war is become more and more scarce. Wallace said he recently attended what will be the last reunion of his old squadron and just 50 people showed up. At its full strength during the war, the squadron had more than 200 men in it. That unit, the Navy Patrol Bombing Squadron 104, was also the only air squadron that received the Presidential Unit Citation twice, according to Larson's office. The Presidential Unit Citation recognized groups of soldiers, sailors and airmen for their bravery.

Wallace is in line to receive two other medals, ones that the government of the Philippines issued to honor American servicemen for their contributions. Wallace said Larson's staff will help him get the Philippines Liberation Ribbon and the Philippines Presidential Unit Citation.

One of the things I've been trying to do with the blog I write for the greater New Britain iTowns is let people know about charitable efforts that are proliferating during this time of the year. Greater Hartford has plenty of these too and here's one that the Wethersfield Evangelical Free Church is doing this weekend. The church is asking that people who come to see its annual art show and concerts this weekend bring a non-perishable food item. The food that is collected will be given to the food pantries in Wethersfield and Rocky Hill.

The church puts on a holiday concert every year and a church spokeswoman I spoke to said this is the first time it has collected food for the needy. This is also the first time it has put on an art show with the concert.

The concerts are Friday at 7 p.m., Saturday at 4 and 7 p.m. and Sunday at 6 p.m. Admission is free but tickets are required. The person I spoke to said no more tickets are being given out but that if people show up 10 minutes before a given show there might be seats available. The church is at 511 Maple St. in Wethersfield.

A while back I blogged about an environmental forum that will be in Wethersfield this weekend and now I am reminding you about it. The folks organizing the event have put a lot of effort into it and it sounds like it will have a lot of things to check out. Here's the website for the event, it gives an overview of what's happening.

The event is on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Wethersfield High School. When I first spoke to organizers, they said their intent is to give people ideas for making their homes more energy efficient and friendlier to the environment. So if you're interested in either of those two things, Wethersfield's Green Summit II may be a source of ideas.

Saving energy, particularly the kind that costs you money, seems to be on everyone's minds these days. So I thought I would pass along something that may be of interest. In November, people in Wethersfield will host a "Green Summit Energy Fair." This event will feature 90 vendors and organizations that are involved in heating and energy and they will offer ideas on making homes and buildings more energy efficient. There will also be speakers and educational workshops along with a raffle for 100 free gallons of home heating oil. You will be able to learn about things like solar panels and othe forms of renewable energy, buying hybrid cars, composting and gardening.

It sounds like this event offers a lot for anyone interested in energy conservation. The event will be Nov. 8 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wethersfield High School is at 411 Wolcott Hill Road.

I spoke to two of the organizers, Nancy Kiely and Wethersfield town council member Matt Forrest, and they said Wethersfield has been active in promoting energy conservation by homeowners and the town itself. Earlier this year, Wethersfield started a citizens energy committee and Kiely said that group has pushed the town to hire an energy consultant and do an energy audit of its buildings. Forrest said that like many communities in Connecticut, Wethersfield has pledged that it will try to have 20 percent of the energy the town uses come from clean or renewable sources by the year 2010. It's not simply town officials who are involved, last year a church group called the Interfaith Green Committee got started and is pushing energy conservation in town.

The event grew out of a summit held in March. Forrest said many who attended said what they wanted was a forum where they could get concrete ideas they can use for themselves.

"This will be one-stop shopping for people for energy conservation ideas," said Kiely.

I got back from vacation on Monday and one of the things in my cluttered inbox that caught my attention was this plea for volunteers from Wethersfield's social and youth services department.

The town of Wethersfield runs a couple of programs aimed at helping senior citizens that sound interesting. Two of them set up older people who no longer drive with someone who can still get behind the wheel and help them get around town. I'm sure there is a need for this since driving becomes more difficult as one gets older. One program is called the Friendly Shopper and as the name implies it helps older people go shopping, like buying groceries or getting prescriptions filled. The other program is called the Friendly Driver and it too provides transportation services for older people.

Another program, called the Friendly Visitor, arranges weekly visits to senior citizens and people who are disabled who are homebound. This is a good idea, I've been homebound twice before because of broken limbs and it can be awfully isolating.

Volunteers are needed for these programs and you don't need much in the way of qualifications. Obviously you have to have a valid driver's license and be insured. But most importantly, you have to like being around older people. Anyone who wants to participate can go to a registration session the town will hold on Oct. 7 from 7 to 9 p.m. in Wethersfield Town Hall. Want more information, call Christine Taylor, the town's coordinator of elderly services, at 721-2977.

My husband, Tony, used to be part of a band of outlaws in West Hartford who get up insanely early and take their dogs to parks and school grounds to let them run without a leash and play together. I loved watching Oslo take off when Tony released him from the dreaded leash -- he shot off like a bullet and ran broad circles around us. His joy was absolutely palpable as his body slunk low to the ground, his neck extended and his powerful legs appeared to float just above the manicured and forbidden lawns.

I was careful not to do the unleashing myself. As a reporter, I felt a compulsion to preserve plausible deniability if someone complained to the police about the wanton running of the dogs.

Ultimately, Tony decided that it was just too risky to let Oslo run around like a madman. He is 85 pounds and incredibly exuberant. If he sees someone he wants to play with, like kids playing soccer or baseball or anything at all, he's likely to crash the game, take the ball, jump on the kids and lick their crazed parents. And woe to anyone who finds themselves between Oslo and a squirrel.

Dangerous stuff.

So now Oslo is back on the leash, tethered to Tony and to Ella's carriage.

Help is on the way Oslo!

Last week I chatted with Steve Bunin, an ESPN anchor who is spokesman for a coalition trying to persuade West Hartford officials to create a fenced dog park. The way he sees it, as long as there's no dog park there will always be people who will take their dogs to the parks and the school grounds to let them run without a leash.

Bunin is one of them. Just about every day, he does a "drive-by" along the Hartford section of Elizabeth Park looking for dogs to play with his husky, Ice. Sometimes, he said, he sees a dozen dogs running around.

I gave it a go and drove by the park twice in one day last week. I saw dogs off their leashes both times. Sammy, the outlaw shown below, was exhausted from playing fetch, but when his person, Gabe Peterson, threw a couple more on my account, Sammy rallied.

Blanche Capilos, whose dog Max had just finished a romp, is a woman who lives life on just the right side of plausible deniability -- a woman after my own heart. "We actually carry the leash. Sometimes we actually put the leash on and let him go."

Can you give a dog owner a ticket if the dog is attached to a leash but nobody's holding the leash?

"We pay our taxes, Capilos said. "The park is big enough for many uses. There's tennis. There's baseball. There are spaces for children. For many of us, our dogs are just another one of our children."

Wethersfield is on the cutting edge. It has a dog park. Hey, Mayor Slifka, are you going to let Wethersfield stay ahead of West Hartford?

I'm really excited about this blog because after nearly 20 years of reporting, I'll be able to write about the communities I cover with a new voice. The Greater Hartford area is so rich in culture, interesting people, historical places and even intrigue. With the help of creative readers, a bit of everything will find its way into this space.

Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't want to infuse sadness into my first blog entry, but I can't close out this week without mentioning the tragedy of two teenage boys in West Hartford taking their own lives. A lot of tears were shed in West Hartford this week. This is a time when communities pull together. And it's a reminder that we all need to watch out for each other.

In order to get acclimated to towns that I don't know as well as I know Hartford, the reporter who covers Bloomfield and Windsor showed me around earlier this week. Along our route, we stopped at a beautiful cemetery in Bloomfield and Steve Goode pointed out a spot with a glorious view. It's the place where a lot of Hartford children are buried, he said. I felt a chill and it called to mind a fashion show I once wrote about at Weaver High School. Mixed in with beachwear and party duds, the students displayed "rest-in-peace wear" -- clothes and accessories that they wear after their friends are killed. In addition to memorial T-shirts, many wear laminated obituaries around their necks.

It's a tall order to expect anyone to take action to save a life. Who can know for sure when someone is so troubled they may choose suicide as a way out? And who can know for sure that a friend or acquaintance may pull a trigger and kill somebody? In a community, there's often someone who has a hunch, though. It takes a lot of courage to follow a hunch like that and reach out to help someone, save a life.

I'd love to hear ideas from readers about how to grow that kind of courage in a community? Thoughts?